System for storing and retrieving old and new electronic identifiers

• US 6,654,789 B1
• Filed: 06/20/2002
• Issued: 11/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Atdata LLC
• Original Assignee: FreshAddress, Inc.
• Inventors: Rosenstein, Mark, Kaplan, William B., Mack, Robert W., Bliss, Austin C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barot, Bharat
• Application Number:
  US10/030,849
• Time in Patent Office: 523 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200-203, 709/206-207, 709/217-219, 709/227-229, 709/245-246, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

An accessible electronic system is provided for storing old and new electronic identifiers and for searching and matching the new and old electronic identifiers of an entity. The electronic system creates a bridge from the old to the new electronic identifiers. During a registration process a registrant may provide the system with a preferred electronic identifier in addition to a series of functional and/or non-functional electronic identifiers. During a searching process, if the searcher provides the system with any of the electronic identifiers provided to the system by the registrant, the system will return the preferred electronic identifier of the registrant.

Claims

1. A system for multiple electronic identifiers, comprising:

a registration process wherein at least one series of electronic identifiers is entered, said at least one series including at least two electronic identifiers, one of said at least two electronic identifiers being identified as a preferred electronic identifier; and

a searching process wherein a visitor enters a target electronic identifier;

wherein said target electronic identifier is compared to said at least one series of electronic identifiers, and if said target electronic identifier matches one of the electronic identifiers in said at least one series, said preferred electronic identifier is returned as a response to the visitor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said electronic identifier is an e-mail address.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said preferred electronic identifier is returned in the form of a graphical image.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said preferred electronic identifier is returned only upon the successful answering of a question by the visitor.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said registration process includes at least one contact electronic identifier for each of said series of electronic identifiers, and said contact electronic identifier is utilized to update said preferred electronic identifier if said preferred electronic identifier is non-functioning.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein a desired list of electronic identifiers is notified of changes in said preferred electronic identifier.

7. The system of claim 1, further including a confirmation process wherein each of said electronic identifiers from said series of electronic identifiers is confirmed as accurate or suspect.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said electronic identifiers are e-mail addresses, and said confirmation process comprises sending an confirmation e-mail to each of said functioning electronic identifiers from said series of electronic identifiers, monitoring said confirmation e-mail for bounce-back messages or no response, and marking said electronic identifiers as suspect if a bounce-back message is received or accurate if no response is received.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein said electronic identifier is an e-mail address, and a plurality of e-mail bounce-backs are individually culled by the system to create said target e-mail addresses for said searching process.

10. The system of claim 1, further including a heuristic table having a list of unrecognized electronic identifiers and likely corrections, and said electronic identifiers provided during said registration process and said searching process are compared to said table, and said likely corrections are returned as a response to the visitor.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one series of electronic identifiers includes at least one non-functioning identifier.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one non-functioning electronic identifier was previously a functioning electronic identifier.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one series of electronic identifiers includes at least one of a chat handle and a nickname.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one series of electronic identifiers includes a uniform resource locator.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the preferred electronic identifier is a functioning electronic identifier.

16. A system for multiple e-mail addresses, comprising:

a registration process wherein at least one series of e-mail addresses is entered, the at least one series of e-mail addresses including at least one e-mail address, the at least one e-mail address from the at least one series being identified as a preferred e-mail address; and

a searching process wherein a visitor enters a target e-mail address, wherein the target e-mail address is compared to the at least one series of e-mail addresses, and if the target e-mail address matches one of the e-mail addresses in the at least one series, the preferred e-mail address is returned as a response to the visitor.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one series further includes at least one of a functioning e-mail address and a non-functioning e-mail address.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the series of electronic identifiers includes at least one of an e-mail address, a chat handle, and a nickname.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the series of electronic identifiers includes at least one non-functioning electronic identifier.

20. A method comprising acts of:

receiving a series of electronic identifiers, the series including at least two electronic identifiers, one of the at least two electronic identifier being identified as a preferred electronic identifier;

receiving a request for a target electronic identifier; and

comparing the target electronic identifier to the series of electronic identifiers and, if the target electronic identifier matches an electronic identifier in the series of electronic identifiers, returning the preferred electronic identifier in response to the request.